Improv

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT IMPROV - PAGE 2

Got the winter blues? Hey, it's January - you're supposed to. But if it's true that laughter is the best medicine, then we've got the cure: seven straight days of comedy shows including stand-up, sketch, solo performance and improv to bring some wit into your winter. Wednesday: TJ & Dave Reviewers rave about this improv show, which has been running at iO for 11 years--"Run, don't walk to the 'TJ & Dave' show" (Chicago magazine) - and also plays often in New York at the Barrow Street Theatre - "Mind-blowing; the best 50 minutes of improv comedy that we've ever seen" (Time Out New York)

Tracy Morgan has earned a reputation as a wild card in his performances. But there's also a serious side to him, one that often comes out in interviews. This was not one of those interviews. The serious questions we prepared for him quickly became irrelevant. He spent most of the interview half-yelling, straddling the line of is-he-serious-or-not as only he can. You can laugh (or not) when he plays the Improv this weekend. How's it going Tracy? I'm good, how are you?

Some people are still feeling the afterglow from the largest street fair in the Midwest, Northalsted Market Days , and the monetary windfall will impact the Lakeview neighborhood even longer. With headliners The Pointer Sisters and Olivia Newton-John, Market Days drew tens of thousands of Chicagoans, all out to drink, dance and devour dishes from local favorites like D.S. Tequila Company and the Chicago Diner. An $8 suggested donation granted the masses access to the event, featuring three stages and over 40 musical acts.

The CTA is hosting various meetings this week for riders to weigh in on upcoming projects. > > On Thursday night, riders will get to see proposals to overhaul the Wilson station in Uptown. Work is expected to begin next year on the Red Line stop, the three-time winner of Going Public's Crust Station contest to dishonor the most disgusting CTA stop. Construction is expected to continue into 2015. The station is expected to become a transfer station for Purple Line trains.

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of Comedy Central's "Key & Peele" will be among the honorees (and performers) at the Chicago Improv Festival Benefit March 31. The comedy stars are making a special appearance to accept their "Ensemble of the Year Award" at the event, which kicks off at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. Key and Peele will take part in a improv jam emceed by Chicago Improv Festival artistic director...

By its nature, improv is a collaborative form of comedy; partners each need to commit to what the other's doing in order for an unscripted scene to take flight. But how do you enhance the collaborative factor when a competition is involved? Enter native Chicagoland comedians Angie McMahon (the creator-artistic director of the Snubfest comedy festival and former founding director of Chemically Imbalanced Comedy) and Kevin Mullaney (Chicago Improv Festival artistic director and former founding artistic director for New York's Upright Citizens Brigade Theater)

Some Brown and Purple line riders will see relief from slow zones after work begins next year on a $66 million project to repair track between the Merchandise Mart and Armitage, CTA president Forrest Claypool and Mayor Emanuel announced Tuesday. The project coincides with a new labor agreement with iron workers, who will begin the track work in the spring. Construction is expected to last into 2014. Though the Brown Line underwent a major overhaul a few years ago, the work focused on stations and platforms, not track, the CTA said.

Lincoln Park residents will see improved mobile broadband coverage with AT&T according to a press release issued by the mobile carrier on Wednesday. Residents who live within the area bordered by N. Racine and W. Armitage streets; N. Damen Avenue and W. Diversey Parkway; and Division and Lincoln Avenue can expect faster file downloads and web surfing. "Our goal is for our customers to have an extraordinary experience. We're always looking for new opportunities to provide enhanced coverage,” AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza said in the press release.

Here's a curveball. Could jasmine increase the batting performance for baseball players? If you ask Dr. Alan Hirsch from the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, which studies how smells affect behaviors, the answer is yes. He'll be presenting his findings on Thursday to the Association of Chemoreception Sciences at its annual meeting in Huntington Beach, Calif. In a study conducted last summer, six White Sox players alternated between wearing jasmine-scented and unscented wristbands.

Chicagoans love their lakefront path, but they don't love all 18-miles equally. In fact, the three-mile stretch of trail between Fullerton Avenue and Randolph Street frustrates cyclists, runners, and beach-seeking pedestrians alike, according to a new report from local transportation and recreation advocacy groups calling for improvements to the trail. During the hottest months for outdoor recreation, as many as 30,000 people travel through the lakefront trail's most popular points, according to the report, called "People on the Trail," which is slated to be released Tuesday.